Love Is A Long Road
by SVUCSIWTRDOOLluver
Summary: This is set after Stella leaves, during the season finale, where the lab gets shot up. Stella definitely picked the wrong day to come back to the lab, but what happens in the aftermath? Who's going and who's staying? Two-shot, possibly SMacked ending...
1. Why Is She Here?

So I know, I haven't written anything in, like, a year or so, but that's because I really needed to focus on my school work and everything, and I basically stopped writing for that whole time. Can you believe that? I didn't write anything until this past summer. I think I was experiencing a super long writer's block or something like that.

Yeah, I'm pretty slap-happy at the moment. Just found out I'm 14th in the class (grade-wise) and there are like 400 kids in my class, and I'm only going to be a junior next year! I'm so excited! Okay, happy rant over. This takes place during that shoot-out at the lab, where that one guy was mad at Mac and his former partner and set up shop across the street in a building and fired like 200 shots at the lab, mainly at Mac's office. It's not focusing on that (and good thing because I can't remember his name) it's focusing on who just walked into the lab right before shots rang out…enjoy!

Mac and Bill stood there for a long moment, talking heatedly about what Bill had done. Neither of them saw the elevator doors slide open and a long-lost friend hesitantly step out of them. A long-lost friend with curly brown hair and sharp green eyes. She glanced around, as if looking to see if anyone had noticed her, and then she took a few steps towards Mac's office.

Her eyes spotted Mac's former partner in there with him, and in an instant she knew that they were arguing. She knew Mac well enough to stand out of his and Bill's line of sight as they talked AKA argued. She linked her hands together and began looking around at the lab that she had once been second-in-command of. Her eyes saw Lindsay standing down the hall, a folder in her hands. She spotted Adam in his lab, bending over some evidence he was processing. Sheldon was at the other end of the hall, discussing something with a lab tech. There were dozens of other people in white coats, some she recognized and some she didn't.

Suddenly, the familiar sound of gunfire ripped through the lab, and she saw glass shattering, lab techs hitting the ground and her eyes snapped immediately over to Mac's office and saw him and Bill curled on the floor, covering their heads.

Pain seared her left shoulder and abdomen as she fell forward onto the ground. Her vision grayed but she fought it, needing to see the face of the man she loved desperately before she let herself float into the black. The last time she had seen him, ugly words and hurtful looks were thrown between the two of them, and he stormed out, slamming the door. She had left, but she couldn't stay away. Especially not when she hadn't talked to Mac since she left, and she hadn't been able to apologize.

Stella remembered it very well: Sinclair had come to her with the 'opportunity of a lifetime' AKA the job to head the lab in New Orleans. He claimed that he had talked to Mac and that Mac had signed off on it. When Stella had talked to Danny, Sheldon, Lindsay, Sid, Adam and Don, she had made the decision to go. Everyone agreed that she more than deserved it, and she promised to keep in touch with all of them. On her way out of the lab for the last time, she stopped by Mac's office to see why he hadn't come to her surprise going-away party given by everyone and planned by Lindsay.

The words he had hurled at her echoed in her mind:

"_How could you just abandon this team like this? And without any warning? I get a visit from Lindsay telling me that your going-away party is tonight, and I'm floored! I ask her what's going on, and she tells me the whole story. Have fun in New Orleans, Stella," His tone had been like ice._

"_You signed off on it!" Stella had shouted back at him, goaded into raising her voice by his angry tone and his hurtful words._

"_I did no such thing!" He roared back and instead of pointing out the obvious like she normally did, Stella blew up. She should have considered that Sinclair did this on purpose, had pretended to have Mac sign off on it to get Stella to go. He had never liked her, especially since she always supported Mac._

"_Yes you did! Why do you think I would've made this decision without knowing that you approved of it? And besides, I don't need your approval! I'm a damned grown woman, Mac, and I can do whatever I please!"_

"_Then GO! Go to your precious New Orleans! I'll get a new partner, new second-in-command and you won't have to worry about leaving poor Mac Taylor behind!"_

"_Why should I worry about you? Every time I do I get it thrown back in my face! 'Oh I'm fine, Stella' 'Stop worrying, Stella'! Well FINE! I'm done! I'm done worrying! I'm done with you!"_

_She was breathing hard, her face red with anger. Mac stared at her for a long moment and Stella saw something in them for the first time. Pure fury towards her. Sure he had gotten mad at her, but this fury was the kind that broke friendships, broke trusts. And that's what had just happened between the two of them._

_Mac tore his eyes away from Stella's and stormed out of his own office, doing his best to slam the door. He jabbed at the elevator buttons but then gave up and stomped for the stairs. He disappeared through the doors and Stella closed her eyes. She felt her anger ebb and then the tears came. Her knees gave way and she sat on Mac's couch, burying her face in her hands and crying for a good long time. Someone came in and put a tentative hand on her shoulder. She cast a glance to her left and saw Danny sitting there._

"_Don went after Mac,"_

"_Don't bother, Danny," Stella said miserably. "I'm leaving, I'm not changing my mind now. I just, I would've liked to still have Mac as a friend." She let herself lean against her friend and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders._

"_He was a jerk, going off on you like that and not even seeing Sinclair about it,"_

_Stella heard the word 'Sinclair' and jumped to her feet. "My flight leaves tomorrow, and I'm not leaving without having a few words with Brigham Sinclair."_

_She dashed out of Mac's office, tears glittering in her cold, angry eyes. Danny hurriedly followed her as she rode the elevator to Sinclair's office. She blew past his secretary without a glance and into his office, with Danny following and apologizing to the shocked secretary._

"_How dare you lie to me!" Stella said heatedly to Sinclair, and he remained seated._

"_Lie? About what?" He said coolly._

"_You told me Mac had signed off on my transfer when you knew damn well that he did not!"_

"_I was under the assumption…"_

"_Yeah, well, you know what they say when you assume, Sinclair? It makes an ass out of you and me, and it certainly did tonight. Goodbye. I hope I never see your sorry face ever again."_

_Stella walked out of his office before the tears could overtake her again. Danny kept his hand on the small of her back and that just made her cry harder as she remember how Mac used to do that for her all the time. He drove her to his and Lindsay's apartment that night and he, his wife and Lucy spent the evening trying to cheer her up._

"_I'll definitely Skype with you guys as soon as I get settled," Stella promised as she stood in the airport the next morning. Danny, Lindsay and Lucy were there to see her off, and as she held Lucy tightly in her arms, Don, Sheldon, Sid and Adam came up. She hugged all of them and felt the tears filling in her eyes. _

"_None of that," Sid admonished gently as he squeezed her hands. She nodded, trying to fight them back. And she succeeded until she got onto the plane and realized that Mac had no intention of coming to see her off. He hated her now, and she had to accept that. And accept it she did as she sobbed quietly into her hands._

The gunfire ceased, and Stella heard people running around, trying to hide from the gunfire they thought was going to come again. A shout came to her ears, from the voice she hadn't heard in months, "STELLA!"

And that was the last thing she heard.

Dun Dun Dun! The queen of cliff-hangers is BACK! Haha just kidding, but I have to admit I do love a good cliff-hanger at the end of chapters. Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you're enjoying this story so far!


	2. Can't Live Without You

The beginning of chapter 2 and the last chapter in this story! I've really got nothing to say for the AN for a change, so I hope you like this chapter! 

Enjoy!

Mac slowly let Lindsay go, and his gaze traveled over the crime lab. Adam and Sheldon were helping a young tech to safety, blood coming from her shoulder. His gaze went to the left and suddenly saw a head of curly brown hair. He knew that hair…

"STELLA!" He bellowed, dashing towards the prone figure on the ground. Her eyes were closed and blood was coming from her shoulder and her abdomen. "No, no, no, no," Mac said anxiously, ripping his jacket off and trying to stop the bleeding in her abdomen. "How are you here? You're not supposed to be here," He begged, and he heard Lindsay screaming for a paramedic in the background.

"Why is she here, Mac?" Lindsay asked, dropping to her knees next to Stella's body. Mac responded by quickly pulling off his shirt, leaving only his undershirt, and pressed it to Stella's shoulder. Lindsay placed her hands on Mac's shirt and helped him try to stop the bleeding. Sheldon came skidding to a stop by Stella's head and he checked for a pulse, and then for her breathing.

"She's got a pulse, barely, and she's not breathing," Sheldon said, bending down and giving her mouth to mouth. He knew that most people discouraged that now, but it was the only thing he could do to try and save his friend's life.

Paramedics came sprinting towards them and slowly Lindsay and Sheldon backed away, giving the medics room. Mac refused to move away until Don came out of the elevator and together he and Sheldon managed to pry Mac away from Stella. "Why is she here?" Don demanded in a broken tone, and Lindsay closed her eyes.

"I asked the same question."

They stood in silence as the medics loaded Stella up on a stretcher and rushed her down to the ambulance. Mac just stood there so Lindsay followed them, intending to ride with Stella to the hospital. Mac brokenly looked down at his hands, covered in Stella's blood, and he whispered, "My fault…"

"Your fault? Mac this is not your fault," Sheldon said immediately, and Mac shook his head, his eyes snapping open.

"If I hadn't pushed her away like that, she would've had no reason to come back!" Mac said loudly, his anger getting the best of him. He walked rapidly towards the stairs and he could remember when Don when after him all those months before…

"_Mac! Hey! MAC!" Don yelled, his voice echoing in the stairwell. He finally caught up to his friend and grabbed him by the shoulders. "What the hell was that?"_

"_She's leaving. You knew."_

"_Of course I knew! And the only reason she started to consider it is because she thought you signed off on it! Sinclair told her, showed her your signature! She had no reason to doubt it!"_

"_She, she should've come to me first,"_

"_Listen to yourself!" Don gave his friend a little shake. "The only thing you can do is get your ass back up there and apologize. She's leaving, Mac, don't let her leave thinking you hate her."_

"_I don't hate her, I just don't know if I can trust her,"_

"_Mac, that's not you talking. You trust Stella with your life," Don watched with wide eyes as Mac shrugged and continued down the stairs. "Don't, Mac, don't do this!" Don yelled as a last-ditch effort, but the door slammed, letting Don know that Mac was on the street and either hadn't heard him or didn't care. He hoped it was the former, not the latter._

"Stop it!" Danny yelled at his boss, and Mac looked at him in shock. "Quit making this about you when it's Stella's blood on your jacket, your shirt, and the floor of this lab!"

"Excuse me?"

"You keep saying 'this is my fault' and 'if I hadn't yelled at her' well guess what Mac Taylor? It ain't about you. It's about Stella Bonasera. It's about her fighting for her life." Danny stated firmly and walked away to get his kit before he said something he would really regret later.

"Would you rather go to the hospital or stay here and work the scene?" Don asked Mac, and he immediately responded with,

"Let's catch this bastard and then we'll have something to tell Stella when we go visit her."

And he proceeded to avoid the hospital for the following days. He received updates from Lindsay, Don, Danny, Sheldon, Adam and Sid when they went, but other than that he focused all of his attention on the case at hand. When the whole thing came to a head and the man who shot Stella and the lab was killed, Mac finally went to the hospital and all he could do was sit in his car, gazing up at the hospital.

Suddenly, a knock came at his window and he was shocked to see Danny, Sid, Sheldon, Adam, Don and Lindsay holding Lucy standing there. "C'mon, Mac," Don said, jerking his head towards the entrance to the hospital.

Mac slowly got out of his car and went with the group into the hospital and travelled to Stella's floor in the elevator. When the doors slid open, Mac walked almost in a trance to room 337. The others filed into Stella's room and Mac stood outside, gazing through the glass window.

"You're walking!" Sheldon exclaimed, and Stella nodded with a grin.

"I can walk around the room without much pain, but other than that, I'm still a cripple."

"Well, that bullet hit a few ribs, Stel, you're going to be in pain for a while," Sid said logically, and finally everyone cleared from Mac's point of view and he could see Stella standing there, holding Lucy.

Her green eyes suddenly flew up to meet his, and in that instant he felt his heart leap. This was the woman he loved, no question about it. And he was going to make it right with her no matter what he had to do. He'd gladly follow her to New Orleans if that's what she wanted, because his work was done. He had closed his last open case, and Danny was more than ready to take over the position as head of the lab, and he knew the others would be okay with that.

Mac stepped to the doorway and Lindsay silently look Lucy out of his godmother's arms. Stella stood stock still as their eyes were still locked together. "I'm so sorry," He whispered, and took a chance by holding his hand out to her.

She didn't hesitate and took the last few steps in a hurry, wrapping her arms around his neck as she quietly said, "I'm sorry too," He carefully wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, not hesitating in bending his head and kissing her soundly on the lips.

Stella returned the kiss for a long moment and then drew back, both of them ignoring the whistles and cat calls from the rest of the team, mostly Danny and Don. "I'll go to New Orleans with you, Stella, I'll go anywhere. I can't live without you, I just can't," Mac begged in a low voice, and Stella's eyes filled with tears. She buried her face in his chest for a long moment and said,

"There's an opening in my team. Megan, my second-in-command, had to go on maternity leave and she's decided to be a full-time mom and she's not coming back. I suggested you take her place, and my boss told me to come here to see if you were interested."

Mac drew her head back and when she looked him straight in the eyes she could see the excitement growing there. "Are you serious?"

"Absolutely. I can't live without you either, Mac," Stella said gently, and Mac kissed her again.

"Then I suppose we should book 2 tickets to New Orleans," Mac decided, and Stella grinned through her tears. He gently wiped her tears away before turning to the rest of the team and saying,

"Danny, you'll take over as head of the lab. Jo will be your partner, and Sheldon will be Lindsay's partner. Maybe Sinclair will find another CSI to add onto the team."

"Are-are you serious boss?" Danny said, goggling at Mac like he had lost his mind.

"Absolutely." Mac replied, and Stella smiled at Danny.

"You're the boss now, Danny. Technically you've got a higher rank than Mac,"

Danny gave a whoop, high-fived Don and kissed his wife and child before high-fiving Sheldon, Adam and Sid. "It's not like a permanent goodbye, we'll come back and visit," Stella said, looking at her goddaughter.

"And we'll come visit you," Sid said, coming over and hugging Stella.

"All right, that's enough. Only one visitor from now on, please, and Miss Bonasera, you've been on your feet long enough. Get back in that bed." The nurse said from the door, a pleasant smile on her face.

"Yes ma'am," Stella said meekly, but she grinned as she climbed back into bed and said her goodbyes to the team. Mac pulled up a seat and held onto Stella's hand until the nurse left, and then he crawled onto the bed with Stella. He wrapped her carefully in his arms and kissed her head, saying,

"Sleep well, my Stella. I love you."

"I love you too."

I know the ending was sappy and sweet, but that's my favorite kind of ending! Thanks so much for reading my first post-hiatus story, and let me know if my writing deteriorated any during that hiatus. Seriously, though, I do appreciate constructive criticism, but no flames, please and thank you! :)


End file.
